People: Jul. 14, 1986

In 1952 the 52,000-ton ocean liner United States broke the transatlantic speed record previously held by Britain's Queen Mary. Time: 3 days 10 hr. 40 min. Last week a 72-ft. racing craft owned and captained by British Airline and Record Magnate Richard Branson clipped 2 hr. 9 min. off the record, earning the "blue riband" traditionally awarded for top speed, and, presumably, the Hales Trophy glorifying it. But the ocean-liner fraternity cried foul. The curator of the U.S. Merchant Marine Museum, where the trophy is housed, refused to yield it to "a toy boat," as he called Branson's $2.3 / million...